As the hub of the Jewish community, the Market was home to a number of kosher butcher shops. To ensure freshness and that the animal was slaughtered according to Kosher ritual, live chickens were kept throughout the neighbourhood until the late 1970s.
*This excerpt contains some graphic descriptions of chickens being slaughtered. If you are listening with young children, or the mention of blood makes you uncomfortable, we suggest skipping this piece.
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- Children and chickens on Kensington Avenue, n.d. Photo from the KMHS collection
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- A family in front of 12 Kensington Ave, a Kosher butcher shop, 1939. Photo from the Kensington Market Historical Society Collection
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- Archives of Ontario, Kensington Market, Toronto, 76/891-2, 1976, RG 65-35-2-58
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- Chickens at 253 Augusta Ave. Photo courtesy of City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 124, f0124_fl0007_id0004
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- Eggs in Kensington Market, circa 1970’s. Photo courtesy of City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 124, f0124_fl0007_id0007
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- Joe Rosenblatt in 2009. Photo courtesy of Saul Joseph
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- Ozzie Pavao, 2014
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- Marila Almeida in Mendel’s Creamery, before its closure in 2014
Do you have your own 90 second story about chickens in the Market? We’d love to hear it!